All About Wind
A flyer with information on wind!!
Wind
Have you ever felt the wind blow in your face or have you ever seen the wind make the trees sway? Well wind has a big impact on us. But what is wind and what causes wind? Wind is the horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area with lower pressure. So it would make since that wind is caused by different air pressure.
Local Winds
Local winds are winds that move over short distances of an area and blow in any direction. These winds are created by different temperatures from geographic features.
Sea Breezes
One type of local winds are sea breezes. During the day the there is high pressure over the ocean and low pressure over the land due to unequal heating. Land heats up quicker than the water so the warm air rises and the cold air from the ocean sinks. The cooler air moves into the warm air's place. Air moves from the ocean to the land. This creates a sea breeze.
Land Breezes
Another type of local wind is called a land breeze. it is basically the same process of a sea breeze. One of the only main differences is that the wind blows in the opposite direction of a sea breeze. Another difference is that this cycle happens during the night. There is low pressure over the ocean and high pressure over land. So the land cools off faster than the ocean. The cold air sinks and moves towards the sea while the warm air rises. This causes wind to move from land to ocean creating a land breeze.
Diagrams of Local Winds
Local Winds
This is a general picture of how land and sea breezes are created.
Sea Breeze Diagram
This is a closer up diagram of a sea breeze. The warm air rises over the hot land and then the cold air takes its place which creates a sea breeze.
Land Breeze Diagram
This is an example of a land breeze. The warm air rises and the cold air sinks. With it a land breeze. Expect this cycle happens in the opposite direction of a sea breeze.
Global Winds
A global wind is a wind that blows equally over long distances. A global wind blows from the same direction every time. Global winds are caused by unequal heating of Earth's surface- just like local winds. There is also a convection current that happens in this process called a pressure belt.
Pressure Belts
The unequal heating of Earth's surface is called a pressure belt. A pressure belt is a large convection current that can be found between the equator and the North and South poles. As the warm rises at the equator and moves towards the poles, it cools off. As it cools some of the air sinks near 30 degrees north and south of the equator. So when it reaches the poles it moves towards the equator again. As it is sinking around 60 degrees it warms up and rises towards the equator.
Doldrums
Doldrums are located near the equator where no wind blows. No winds blow here because the warm air rises which creates a low pressure. Here it is very calm.
Types of Global Winds
Some different types of global winds are Trade Winds, Prevailing Westerlies, and Jet Streams. Here are some different facts about each of them.
- Trade Wind- Trade winds are winds that were used by sailors, They blow around 30 degrees near the equator
- Prevailing Westerlies- Prevailing Westerlies are winds that flow west to east around 30 and 60 degrees latitude
- Jet Streams- Jet Stream is a narrow belt of high speed wind that separates hot and cold air